DSLR dilemma

I would like to buy a DSLR camera and I am in a need of assistance please... Anybody has one that you are particularly happy with?? Relatively easy to use, but with good quality. All advice welcome... I take lots of photos at all occasions, not always good ones , but hey.... that's just the way it goes... I would like to have a camera with good macro/digital macro option as flowers became my "obsession" lately

general consensus is either: Canon, Olympus or Nikon.I've got a Canon 20D, and it's a great piece of kit.

Your budget will dictate a great deal what you'll get. Lens avaliability is also another thing to look at, there are alot of similar sounding lenses out there yet they are very different when you check them out.

Questions to ask yourself:1 - do I need an DSLR?2 - what budget have I get (both body and starter lenses)3 - what size body is comfortable to hold4 - what features are required5 - sensor size (do you require it to be full frame or will a smaller sensor be ok)6 - what range of lenses do i want (do you have any 35mm that will work on a DSLR?)7 - Where will you be using the camera? (robustness comes at a price).

These are a few starters - recommendations go so far, but you need to play with them to get the 'real' feel for one. Everyone has their own favorites (mine being Canon) so you do need to be hands on, as everyone is different.

Thanks a lot for your reply I will think carefully and ponder over your questions, and hopefully it will lead me in a right direction.Tomorrow my day off , so shops in London beware... here I come in a search of a "perfect" camera for me Cheers again

I got an olympus E500 at the start of december, couldn't be happier with it, I take a lot of flower pics too, the telephoto lens that it came with is great for it! can see things on flowers u never knew existed.

There are HEAPS out there tho, try and find a good camera shop that will let you have a play in store, see how easy you figure out how to use it, what sort of pics it comes out with.

I fell in love with mine when I took a picture of an old style candy machine in the store, was a great picture!

i got a nikon d40 last year and feel that it's a great dslr starter camera. the kit lens is pretty good, lcd screen is large and clear, heaps of options and great for a beginner like me.

having said that, the new d40x is the upgraded version. it has over 4mp more compared to the d40 (from 6mp to 10mp), slightly higher frames per second, a new iso 100 option (compared to d40 200) and a few other tweaks.

it depends on what you want to do with the pics after you take them. because i post a lot on the internet and stuff, i think the d40 is fine with me. lower mp means easier conversion. but like i said, it depends on your intentions.

Just wanted to let you all know that I finally bought the camera..... the decision was a difficult one, but in the end I got Cannon 400D Still getting used to all the features, but I am very happy with it so far...

Thanks a lot for all the help, and will be adding some flowers photos to my album real soon....

Just wanted to let you all know that I finally bought the camera..... the decision was a difficult one, but in the end I got Cannon 400D Still getting used to all the features, but I am very happy with it so far...

Thanks a lot for all the help, and will be adding some flowers photos to my album real soon....

Hi Nikki,You are right, the lens that the camera comes with is not the greatest.I kept it but bought two additional Sigma lenses: 70mm F2.8 EX DG MACRO and 70-300mm F4-5.6 APO DG MACRO. I do a lot of close-ups photos so they are great for that. I might buy one more that is not a macro lens soon, but have not decided yet which one...

hey i'm considering buying a DSLR camera (nikon D40) but i'm worried about the size of the camera and how easy will it be to carry it around.Otherwise i will go for a Canon Powershot S3 IS.The thing that troubles me is that although D40 is better than S3, the later already has a zoom len attached to it. So if i want to Zoom with D40 i'll have to buy another set of lens which is +150euro (i think)